And On..., a harry potter fanfic

Title: And On...

Author: Sherry

Email: junruichen@aol.com

Website: http://www.angelfire.com/or2/sherryillk

Summary: Can't, it'll give it up if I try anything. All I can say is SLASH and H/D

Pairing: Harry/Draco

Rating: PG-15 for only mild slash

Author Notes: A really boring (in my opinion, but please do tell me if you feel differently) fanfic (but thankfully short) that I've toyed with in my mind for the past few months that I've worked on, paragraphs at a time. Can be considered a prequel to I'm Not In Love, though technically when I first thought of it, it wasn't a prequel. It can be if you want and I've worked it so that it could be if you want to be, but my intention was for it to be a standalone.

Author's Warning: If you haven't gotten this by now, this is your last warning. SLASH

"Potter."

The whole table silenced with the arrival of the intruder. Three heads lifted, looking up at the boy in front of them, one shaking with a barely controlled fury, another with tried anticipation and lastly one with practiced indifference.

"What do you want?" Ron spat without preamble. He supposed in the deepest reaches of his mind, he was acting a bit rashly a bit too quickly, but his gut told him that this sudden appearance couldn't be a good thing.

Hermione laid her hand on Ron's arm in a calming gesture. "Let it go." Though what she wanted for him to "let go" was uncertain. She gave Malfoy a quick glance, with equal measure of disdain and coldness. "He's not worth the time or the trouble."

Her words seemed to have a calming effect on Ron. Still, Harry said nothing. The whole table had their eyes either trained on the three or on the silvery blond boy. By this time, the rest of the students in the Great Hall had quieted down to a mere dribble of half-spoken whispers, speculating why Draco Malfoy was all of a sudden gracing the Gryffindor table -- a place he usually would not venture if it meant all the Galleons in the world.

They could feel it...could feel the electricity, the spark and the undeniable feeling that something unequivocally was going to change at this very moment.

Harry raised a raven-black head to look at the boy in front of him, his eyes unreadable and guarded as he pushed an errant strand of hair away from his face. "Malfoy," he greeted with an unwavering tone, his voice betraying nothing that which others could gleam his inner thoughts or feelings.

"Astronomy Tower. Saturday. 11:30." Malfoy's voice was curt, clipped, and to the point, but it also carried volumes as his words carried over the entire student body. Not one had their attention focused elsewhere and all heard the declaration from Slytherin to Gryffindor. Several people shuddered at the calm, collected face of Malfoy, who'd acted as if he had just announced a desire for a short walk outside rather than...

A few of them -- well, rather most of them -- had some sort of notion of a thought as to what Malfoy meant by his cryptic announcement. And of those, they were pretty much all the same thing or variations of the same sort of theme.

Their collective heads in the Great Hall all turned to get a view of Potter to see his response. Hold their breaths, they waited for his answer.

And waited...

And waited until they were almost blue in the fact and they just couldn't stand the lack of oxygen any longer. Almost in unison, they gasped and heaved as one after another met their limits and they had to quit and come back for the beautiful, sweet delicious air that their lungs were craving.

But still Potter didn't say a word -- neither did Malfoy for that matter. Malfoy was still standing, rooted to his spot, his face impassive as hard stone, staring at Potter with his steady eyes, he too waiting for the other boy's answer. And Potter... Potter was staring back, his face just as mysterious -- though his was most definitely more approachable and less caustic.

"Oh come on, Harry!" Weasley burst, unable to stand the impassable silence. "You're not afraid of this...this ferret." He shot a glare at Malfoy who was unusually collected as he took the insult as he tried to urge his friend into action.

"You can't be seriously considering..." Granger protested as she trailed off. "He's not worth it!" she cried out, trying to -- what she thought -- avoid a nasty situation that she knew would get her friend kicked out of Hogwarts for good.

"Hermione!" Weasley whined. "Don't worry! He's--" he punctuated his words with a sharp jerk of his head to Malfoy, "--nothing compared to Harry here." He finished with a not-so-gentle smack on Potter's back, jolting him toward a few inches.

But still Harry said nothing. He merely stared at the blond haired boy (but he wasn't so much a boy now, was he?), looking as if he was trying dissect Malfoy with his eyes, separate him into his different personalities and assets, being measured for every part of his being, his very existence, good or bad, yes or no. Their audience's breathing caught in their throats, even though they were not the one who was being weighed. But Malfoy was unflustered, barely showing any sign of being bothered at all by the intense scrutiny besides a slight, almost nonexistent twitch -- solitary though -- in his left eye.

Finally Harry opened his mouth to speak. The background chatter of the Great Hall that had been consistent throughout this whole episode suddenly stilled in anticipation as they could feel that Harry was finally going to give Malfoy -- and them -- the answer that they new he would give. Surely, the Boy Who Lived would not cower away?

There was a pregnant pause for a long moment and Harry calmly responded, "Fine."

And that was that. After answering, he dropped his and just as quickly went back to his meal as he speared a long spear of asparagus, going about eating as he just hadn't...

Malfoy nodded, half in response with a satisfied gleam in his eyes. He turned on his heels and headed back towards his House's table, strutting the entire way back.

Half of the students followed Malfoy back with their eyes, the other half observing Potter, trying to catch a glimpse, hoping he would give something away.

As soon as Malfoy was seated once again, the whole Hall erupted into talk. Both the respective friends of Potter and Malfoy started to badger their friend for information as to what IT was while everybody else in the Great Hall was talking amongst themselves, trying to speculate and gleam what IT was as well.

It seemed, as if almost the only people who were unflustered by the event that had just taken place were the teachers, who played no part nor attention to the debatable since it started only moments before and...Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter themselves.

While the people around them chattered and hypothesized -- they ignored their surroundings and their cares and instead concentrated on the most important task on their minds at the moment; something that needed intense thought and attention -- eating. After all...savoring food is an art form in many cultures and they had to do it just right.

But if someone was to look upon their lowered heads, they would see a small knowing grin on each of the boys and a twinkle in both of their eyes. But then again, no one actually cared to look or even if they did, they wouldn't be able to see past what they wanted to see and see what was right in front of their faces.

So they all missed the clues that would have alerted them to the fact that something was not right, that something was amiss. All but the teachers anyway -- they already knew and frankly they didn't feel as if it was their right to interfere. Especially when the show was almost too much for them to even keep a straight face. They managed it though. They didn't want to be the ones to end it. This was the most fun they've had in ages.

But come Saturday, 11:30 P.M. at the Astronomy Tower, they were all sure to find out just what this IT was. Because this was shaping up to be the event of the whole school year and would probably be caught in the halls by Fitch. NO ONE was going to miss this, they were sure.

The week passed with an incredible sluggishness and with each passing minute, hour and the eventual day, the students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry became more and more frustrated.

They never knew it was possible to die from anticipation but this week had several students reconsidering that thought. Most of their lives were suddenly suspended, anything and everything eventually came back to Malfoy and Potter, the Astronomy Tower and what IT was. As time went one, more and more outrageous ideas and thoughts came out until no one was sure what they had believed in the first place.

Every spare moment was devoted to those two, rumors and questions spreading like wildfire as it often did in the cozy school. Those who tried to escape the mayhem found themselves caught and roped into the fiasco anyway -- it seemed no one was not immune to the talk.

The only people who seemed to be exempt from the masses insatiable curiosity seemed to be the teachers (who couldn't possible not have heard about the upcoming event, yet still made no attempt to curve or stop it to the surprise of the students) who carried on as if everything was as usual and that their students all seemed to have other things on their minds besides schoolwork.

Them and the two boys who seemed to be one everybody's mind, from first year to seventh, Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy.

From the very beginning of those two's first year at Hogwarts, the rest of the student body found themselves to be eclipsed by their heated rivalry. It was more than the Slytherin - Gryffindor House rivalry, more personal and much more important -- to both of them. They fought like no other, each trying to outdo the other, out-show, outplay, fighting for supremacy and for victory, and went beyond the Quidditch games they played. Slytherin had never won a Quidditch game since Harry started as Seeker for the Gryffindor team and Draco had never caught the Snitch with Harry playing on the opposite team. Great Seekers themselves without question but still Draco had never crossed the last barrier that separated the two of them.

But it was more than Quidditch. Every year they would find themselves to be in one more fight, one more race, one more competition be it in just the best dates for the Yule Ball or the best test score on one of Snape's impossible Potion tests.

And though they were only in their Sixth Year, they were still the most talked about, most recognizable people at Hogwarts. Everybody else was...inconsequential. When it should have been the Seventh Years who were supposed to have been the most talked about, the people the rest of the school wanted to be like and was held in the utmost esteem, it was instead to be Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy, even back when they were still little, naive First Years.

The two of them acted as if they were not facing certain doom from the other -- and everybody at Hogwarts were sure it was going to be certain doom -- and refused to even acknowledge their date on Saturday, at the Astronomy Tower at 11:30 P.M. That only served to annoy the people around them even further and with every denial, they only vowed even more fervently to be at the Tower when the time comes.

Finally, the day everyone was literally waiting for finally came to the relief of all at the school. Only five minutes before the time that Malfoy and Potter had set upon to meet, yet still they had not shown. Over half the students had shown up, hanging around the stairs, trying to see in through the crowds. Those that were lucky and smart enough to arrive early, had prime spots right in the tower, filling up every space imaginable, but still allowing the place enough room for Malfoy and Potter to do what it was they were going to do. After all, if they had left no room, how could they even move much less do IT. Others were in the ground looking up at the tower, trying to get a glimpse of anything that was up there, looking through Ominoculars. A few smart wizards and witches were circling and floating above and around the tower on their brooms, smirks on their faces as those who were below them were looking up at them with envy. There was no doubt that they had the best view of them all.

But there were some who weren't anywhere near the Astronomy Tower. Some were asleep, others studying, all staying away from the event that they knew would be good, but still refusing to participate in the madness that had swept the students of Hogwarts the past week. They had to listen all week about Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter, Malfoy and Potter in every situation possible and frankly, they were sick and tired of it. Thumbing their noses at those who were idiotic enough to go and see that circus, they were smart enough to avoid it altogether, staying away in spite. But if they were truthful with themselves, they too felt the burning desire to find out what it was that Malfoy and Potter were going to be doing at the Astronomy Tower this night. Still they couldn't do it. It was a matter of principal and integrity.

As the minutes ticked by, the guys and girls started to look more and more harried, wondering if both Potter and Malfoy decided to ditch and leave them hanging. Surely Harry would at least show up... they thought, thinking of how in the first year Malfoy had challenged Harry to a duel and he didn't show up. Harry did. If he wasn't scared then, he shouldn't be scared now, they reasoned. Malfoy, they weren't so sure of. But he had progressed a lot better since First Year and they were certain he knew a good many curses more than the average student. His father was -- though never proven, but still is no matter what they say -- a prominent Death Eater.

A minute before half past eleven, they heard stomping footsteps coming up the stairs. Those who were loitering on the steps, pressed themselves against the Tower walls to allow the trio stalk past. A blaze of red hair streaked past, encouraging and assuring Harry of victory while the bushy-haired girl on the other side was gesturing wildly, trying one last effort to stop Harry from this madness. Those who they passed could hear her comments: "Don't do this, Harry. Think about it, please? No good can come from this." But Harry just gave her a small smile and turned his face away, looking straight ahead as if he could see his goal and was determined to meet it.

They made it to the top. If Harry was surprised by the turn out, he didn't show it. Hermione on the other hand, was shocked. At the top of the stairs, she paused, staring at the people gathered at the top and the people flying around. She turned around, her wide eyes looking down the way she had just climbed, seeing the people gathered here almost for the first time.

"Oh my..." she whispered, her words failing her. She turned back around to face Harry and Ron who were standing in the middle, surrounded by many of their friends and classmates. "There has got to be everyone at Hogwarts here..."

"Not everybody, but close," a velvety voice commented behind her, warm breath in her ear. She whirled around to see Malfoy standing only a few inches away, smirking at her.

Hermione glared at the blond boy before turning around to go to her friends.

The three of the stood waiting in the center as Malfoy walked around, surveying the place and those who were up and around the tower.

"Nice," he commented, satisfied. "We should have about 80% of the students, don't you think?" he asked, glancing at Harry.

Harry didn't answer. Instead, he had that little smile on his face, the one he had given Hermione before when he had been humoring him. He broke away from the tight enclosure of his two best friends and took a few steps towards Malfoy. "Not exactly what you were expecting?" he questioned, good-naturedly, puzzling those around him.

Why was Harry Potter being nice to...Draco Malfoy? Especially when they had made this meeting to fight...? they all thought in confusion.

Malfoy shrugged. "I was hoping for a few more people, but I suppose after what happens here tonight, it should spread pretty quickly."

The people who were in hearing distance from the two stared at them as if they had just grown a second head, while the others who were not in hearing distance were clamoring to know what it was that those two were walking about.

"What -- exactly -- is supposed to be happening here tonight?" Harry asked, his voice soft.

Malfoy turned around, giving the people around him who were looking at him strangely one last look before turning back to Harry. "Lets start this."

Harry shrugged, the small smile back on his face as he walked to the center of the tower, Malfoy at his back and forcing Hermione and Ron to join the others at the side of the tower.

The people down the on the ground watched with their Ominoculars held tight to their eyes, careful not to blink so they don't miss a thing, even in the millisecond it takes to close and open your eyes again. Though they could not hear what was going on, they were sure they didn't need to know. After all, it was the action that they were here for.

Those who were circling around, paused, certain that things were finally going to start. They could hear every word spoken -- as easily as those who were enclosing the two young wizards -- and they just had said as much. Their whole demeanor, held in rapt attention as they waited patiently.

The ones around and in the top of the top scrambled to get a good view of the two. They were perhaps the most disadvantage when it came to views of the duel to be and they knew if they wanted to see it, see Harry finally defeat that stupid, arrogant boy called Malfoy, they would have to move and fight for it. They pushed and shoved, the ones getting caught in the middle tried to fight to get out of the crush only ended up getting pushed back.

Hermione and Ron, with their confusion clear on their faces watched on as Harry and that Malfoy moved into place. Hermione with barely concealed agitation and Ron with a sort of rapture on his face, knowing what was to come of this and who would remain standing at the end. So excited he was, he barely registered the comforting hand that slid into his. Looking into Hermione eyes, he grinned, his straight white teeth showing through. "This is going to be great!"

Harry and Draco, together in the center of the Astronomy Tower, with the attention of almost the entire school looking and watching them. For a few seconds, they did nothing, suspending the apprehension for a few moments longer and then! Before they could register what was happening in front of their eyes, Draco grabbed the front of Harry's robe and roughly pulled him forward.

Their audience gasped as a collective whole. This was not the sort of duel they were expecting. They thought, Maybe a wizard's duel? But never in their minds, think for one moment with sincerity, that they would resort to...physical fighting.

What happened next stunned them even more. Instead of throwing Harry down, or even throwing a punch, Draco wrapped his arms around the other boy and...

Kissed him???

What?!

Their eyes opened wide while jaws dropped opened in shock. They stood gaping at the sight of the two of the best known enemies at Hogwarts, taking inventory of the other's tonsils at the same time playing tongue tag.

After a few minutes, they regained their senses and closed their eyes, hoping that when they opened them again, they would see a victorious Harry standing over a defeated Malfoy at his feet.

That wasn't what they saw.

In fact, the two of them were still going strong, surprisingly since neither of them had came up for air yet and it was just as intense as it was in the beginning.

The witches and wizards on their brooms, dumfounded, forgot that they were high above the ground on thin pieces of wood that needed total concentration and started to lose control. Thankfully, no one was hurt -- badly. A few dropped to the ground, the impact not phasing them one bit. Instead, when they finally got out of the wreckage, they would just shake their heads and wonder if it had only been a hallucination brought about by the hard hit to the head when they fell. Then they saw their fellow students standing around the Astronomy Tower, Ominoculars clutched in theirs hands and held to their faces as they stared mesmerized at the couple up there who were still going at it.

The firsts to break out of the spell that seemed to be holding them all were Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley. Ron shook himself out of the daze and lurched forward, yanking his friend from the embrace.

"What," he yelled, "do you think you are doing snogging Malfoy?!"

Harry and Draco separated reluctantly, their lips bruised and full, both sporting that look when one had been well and thoroughly kissed. They both had pleased smiles on their faces; Harry's more sweet than anything else, Draco's a bit more insidious.

All around them was silence. No one could even comment on what they all knew just happened, they didn't want to think about, much less talk about. But still they stuck around, waiting to see what Harry could say that could explain away this...this...aberration they had just seen.

Harry grinned sheepishly and blushed, shrugging his shoulders. He broke away from Ron's grasp and chanced a glance at Hermione whom seemed to be doing a credible imitation of goldfish out of water. Harry turned to the blond boy who seemed to have crept up behind him and moved in closer until they were side by side.

"What do you think?" Draco asked softly, almost tentatively as if he was afraid of the answer.

Mulling it over, Harry shrugged again. "A bit more showy than I had imagined but," he paused, taking in the people who were staring at him and his lover, "it did do the job..." Quirking a grin at the sight before, he thought the urge to smile. What he had said he wanted to go out with their relationship, this was not what he had in mind. "The exhibitionist inside you happy?"

Draco grinned, flashing his pearly white teeth. He pulled Harry to him, holding him close. "Oh definitely," he murmured, glancing at their audience before going down for one more kiss that seemed to go on...

...and on...

A/N: Well I hope you like! For my loyal Gregon readers, chapter 12 is up! Oh and review!!! Always review! I live for them! I love them! Review!